Most school districts are equipped to deal with an emergency—whether it's a disgruntled parent lobbying for change, an environmental disaster, or a public scandal. However, fewer school districts have thought about emergency digital threats.

The system advertises to be faster than a typical metal detector because it only flags metal used in weapons, instead of all metal, which reduces the number of times students are flagged and searched, according to school officials.

The Renaissance Initiative—launched in 2010 under Superintendent Arlene Ackerman while the district was under state control for poor performance—strove to turn around about 10% of Philadelphia's low-performing district schools by ceding them to charter organizations that promised to do better.

A recent push from four school board members had been to bring in the National Guard to help with issues like fights, disruptions, students leaving school without permission, trespassers at the school, and teachers calling out.